Thursday, 16 August 2018

These cupcakes are one of my all-time favourite to make and to eat of course! The original recipe makes 24 so I have halved everything to make about 12 (depending on how much you fill the cases you might only get 11).

The recipe also uses the cream cheese icing for the topping but I find you need to keep that refrigerated or it goes off quicker so I used Jemma's normal vanilla buttercream icing for the topping - of course this option is up to you - both work really well with the cupcake.

Ingredients (for the cream cheese icing):
125g unsalted butter, softened
120g cream cheese
420g icing sugarMethod:
1. Preheat the oven to 170
2. Sift the dry cupcake ingredients (apart from the bicarbonate of soda) and 3/4 of a teaspoon of fine sea salt into a large bowl, add the butter and eggs and beat for 60 seconds with an electric mixer (I prefer the free-standing type).
3. Mix the buttermilk, vanilla extract and colouring paste in a small jug, then add to the mixture and beat for another 20 seconds, or until well combined.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then give the mix a final blast for a few seconds to make sure it's all incorporated.
5. In a cup, mix the bicarbonate of soda with the vinegar - as soon as you do this, it'll start to fizz. Working quickly, pour the bubbling mixture into the cake mix and whisk very briefly to incorporate.
6. Give the batter a final mix and whisk very briefly to incorporate thirds full with mixture, but don't bother to smooth it out.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they spring back when touched. Leave to cool, transferring to a wire cooling rack after 5 minutes.

Method:
1. Beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until pale and smooth.
2. Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl, then add to the butter mixture in two stages, beating well between each until beautifully smooth - if the mix seems to loose, add a little more icing sugar until the consistency is just right.
3. Once the cupcakes are cool, decorate them with the icing and a few of your favourite sprinkles and enjoy.

Let me know in the comments below if you've made these amazing cupcakes!?

Saturday, 4 August 2018

I originally bought this game on a whim for my PS4 when I was in my "recording gaming videos" phase - started recording videos and realised it was going to take forever so I decided to give it a miss - I think I then recorded and did Ori and the Blind Forest (a much better choice).

The game then came out on the Switch which I have and so I bought it on that - and I haven't stopped playing it since - I highly recommend getting it - it's currently on sale (or was depending on when your reading this post).

The game is a farming simulation role-playing video game where you take control of a tired office worker who wants a change - and guess what ... you just inherited your Grampa's farm in Stardew Valley.

There is plenty to do in Stardew Valley and I've been kept very busy the last couple of months - you can clear rocks and trees, plant, tend and harvest crops, buy buildings such as coops, barns, silos, stable etc, speak and build up relationships with the villagers, get a boyfriend/girlfriend and get married, have kids too - the game really does have everything.

It's also LGBT+ friendly - you can be gay and instead of "making a baby" you can adopt one instead.

You can also do little daily quests, longer quests and there is the community centre bundles that need you to collect certain items and this in turn unlocks bigger things on the map - like the bridge being rebuild or your greenhouse being rebuilt.

It is such a good game and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys simulation games.